Calgary Is Seeing A Growing Number Of Businesses Shut Down

The economic downturn is hitting Calgary companies hard as an increasing number of businesses have shut down, city data shows.

In 2016 so far, 4,114 businesses have closed, according to data provided by the city. If the trend continues, more than 7,000 businesses will have shut down by the end of the year. In 2015, 6,337 businesses shut their doors and 5,902 in 2014.

Just in the past two weeks, at least five notable Calgary business shut their doors: Escoba Bistro, Red Tree Catering, The Drum and Monkey pub, SHE Lingerie's Westhills location and Fitz Flooring.

In the case of SHE Lingerie and Fitz Flooring, the businesses shuttered overnight without even notifying their customers.

"Given the economy right now, it's not surprising to see these kind of overnight closures… at some point people just simply have to close their doors because they're not being profitable in this market," Amber Ruddy, a representative of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told CBC News.

There has been a small increase in the number of new business licences, which might be due to the number of entrepreneurs deciding to strike out on their own.

In 2014, 6,887 new licences were taken out and 7,081 in 2015. So far this year 4,326 new business permits have been issued.

"It's what we always see when the economy fluctuates — a lot more consultancy type businesses to try and use expertise in a different way," Sherry Bourque, the city's business registry co-ordinator, told the Calgary Herald.

Here's a look at some of the major energy industry layoffs that have affected Alberta in 2015:

Company: Royal Dutch Shell
Layoffs: Hundreds of layoffs at its massive Albian Sands project. The company announced it is laying off less than 10 per cent of its 3,000 workers.

Company: Suncor Energy
Layoffs: The company announced it will layoff about 1,000 people from its workforce of 14,000. It also cut $1 billion from its capital budget

Company: Schlumberger
Layoffs:Schlumberger announced they would cut 9,000 jobs in January, and another 11,000 in April, but did not report on how may of those jobs would affect Alberta employees.

Company: Newalta
Layoffs: The company announced it would cut 180 people from its workforce to reduce costs and improve margins. The cuts amounted to 15 per cent of its staff.

Company: Weatherford International
Layoffs: The oilfield services company said it will lay off 8,000 workers worldwide, or about 15 per cent of its workforce. According to Global News, about 1,000 of those positions affected Albertans.

Company: Cenovus Energy
Layoffs: Cenovus Energy Inc. said it will cut its staff by about 15 per cent, the bulk of layoffs coming from its contract workforce. The company also suspended employee salary increases for this year.

Company: Precision Drilling
Layoffs: Precision announced a net loss of $114 million, and was forced to adjust to a "swift and severe" decline in crude prices, said CEO Kevin Neveu. At the time, Neveu said about 50 fewer Precision rigs, and 1,000 fewer people, were running than at the same time a year ago.

Company: Finning International
Layoffs: Finning International said it will cut 500 employees, or about 9 per cent of its Canadian workforce. Some of these cuts came to people working the Alberta oilsands or based in Edmonton.

Company: Nexen Energy
Layoffs: Nexen said they would slash 400 jobs "in response to the recent industry downturn." The majority of Nexen's cuts affected employees at its Calgary office.

Company: Talisman Energy
Layoffs: Talisman Canada said it would reduce its workforce by 10 to 15 per cent as it grapples with low crude prices. Spokesman Brent Anderson says up to 200 employee and contractor jobs would be cut, mostly at the company's head office in Calgary.

Company: ConocoPhillips
Layoffs: ConocoPhillips announced that they will cut seven per cent of their Canadian staff — or about 200 people in total.
Spokeswoman Kristin Ashcroft said that some Calgary-based staff and workers in the oil field would be let go.

Company: Trican Well Services
Layoffs: Trican Well Service Ltd. cut 2,000 employees from its North American workforce, including about 800 in Canada, and said it will stop paying dividends to its shareholders, citing the difficult current and future market conditions.

Cenovus Energy Inc. cut between 300 to 400 jobs in the second half of this year, on top of 800 layoffs announced in February.

Penn West announced it is cutting its workforce by 400 full-time employees and contractors — most of them working at company headquarters in Calgary.

ConocoPhillips Canada confirmed to CBC News it will reduce its workforce by about 15 per cent — 400 employees and 100 contractors. The majority of jobs lost will be in the Calgary office.

Cenovus, Suncor, Athabasca Oil and Calfrac all lay off hundreds of workers.
"Unfortunately, these are the necessary steps required to weather an extended downturn," company spokesman Matt Taylor tells CBC.

Enmax, Transcanada and Enbridge all announced layoffs, totalling more than 560 employees, CTV reported.

ATCO Group laid off more than 400 people, according to The Calgary Herald, bringing the total group layoffs of the year to over 18,000 workers.